More relevant than at first glance

Tinseltown outsiders

Because I intend for Ann Hui, Clarence Fok, Wong Jing, Jeff Lau and Johnnie To respectively (i.e. in that order) to adapt my novels, this article is a comparison piece. In particular is the case of U.S. box office statistics regarding Hollywood débuts of Hong Kong film directors; such analysis will prove to be welcoming instead of off-putting in terms of instilling confidence in Hollywood producers that they can exceed expectations. They are presented in chronological order instead of revenue order:

If it wasn’t for the Pang brothers financially exceeding Woo and Yu, Corey would not have been given the opportunity to direct the computer game adaptation. It would probably have been directed by the director of The Transporter 2, who was also the real director of The Transporter but didn’t get credit because it was important for the movie to be taken seriously by martial arts movie fans. I think that every adaptation of my novels would gross at least 50 million in the U.S. of America. It’s going to take a lot of money to get Jing to come abroad. In 1993, he rejected Oliver Stone’s offer of 3.5 million. In 1996, Jing brags that he’s already earning that much money.

There are 22 other contenders for Hollywood stardom. Mabel Cheung could easily do more than just Indie films. She could do female-driven films of a mainstream nature. Tony Leung Siu-Hung could finally make the leap from Hollywood fight controller to a director of the sort of films which made a name out of Isaac Florentine. Stephen Tung, Yuen Tak, Philip Kwok, Ridley Tsui and Yuen Bun are other potential figureheads for direct-to-disc action movies. Yuen Woo-Ping should have been receiving top-tier (i.e. mainstream martial arts) opportunities like Dragonball Evolution, Elektra or The Last Airbender. After when Martial Law came to an end, it would have been good for Sammo Hung to direct episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He mixed fighting and scares with applaudable aplomb in Spooky, Spooky.

Jackie Chan might as well have directed The Karate Kid. It would have been the best way to symbolize himself passing the baton, especially in light of Will Smith rejecting the opportunity to be choreographed by Woo-Ping in The Matrix. In terms of theatrically released dramas (Oscar-bait or otherwise), Wong Kar-Wai, Fruit Chan and Wai Ka-Fai could assume the mantle. Marco Mak, Alan Mak (no relation), Wilson Yip and Teddy Chen could direct thrillers. Dennis Chan, Alfred Cheung and Derek Yee could direct rom-coms. Nam Nai-Choi could direct fantasy and horror movies. Stephen Chow and Vincent Lee Lik-Chi could easily direct madcap comedies which eschew the melodramatic trappings which weigh down most Hollywood comedies. Finally, Billy Tang could direct chillers (the middle ground between thrillers and horrors).

Katherine Heigl had this to say about Bride of Chucky (a.k.a. Child’s Play 4) for a 1998 issue of Femme Fatales (she had her own two pages halfway through the female lead’s article):

“There’s actually a lot of comedy in it. It’s very dark and twisted. The humour gives it an edge. I love Ronny as a director and a person. I think the lighting and the way it’s being shot is Alfred Hitchcock in a sense. It’s unique and almost beautiful – though definitely eerie. For some reason, I love all the blood and stuff. I was really excited that I was going to get a wound and everything because I didn’t get a wound when I did Under Siege 2. I haven’t really had any experience in my life that I can relate gore to, but I’ve had death and tragedy in my life, so I have to recall all that into my character as Jade.”

Contrast that with Jennifer Tilly’s initial apprehension in the 1999 issue of Videoscope (circa springtime):

“When my agent first called up and said – Do you want to do a Child’s Play movie? Of course, I said – Absolutely not. Because people associate horror roles with something you do at the beginning of your career or the end of your career. But my agent was saying it’s not like that. They want to make a really cool movie. With the horror films being really big right now, it’s a good way to reach another audience – like a young, hip audience. So he sent the script over and I read it. I’ve never seen any of the other Child’s Play movies. I thought it was really clever, funny, fresh and kind of unexpected.”

Ronny directing Heigl and Nick Stabile:

If the aforementioned quintet of directors reject their respective opportunities, the other directors in this article would be queried next. I have a rule that the only H.K. directors who I would consider are the ones who have yet to direct a U.S. movie. In doing so, this makes me comparable to Jean-Claude Van Damme a.k.a. the human green card (as he was known by Jeff Yang) because of bringing over John Woo, Ringo Lam and Tsui Hark.

H.K. cinema is definitely worth investing in for U.S. studios wanting to capitalize on China’s economy. In mid-September of 2000, a South China Morning Post article was released regarding Samuel L. Jackson working with Ronny Yu for The 51st State (a.k.a. Formula 51). He is a self-confessed Hong Kong movie fanatic. It was a passion that started back in 1976 when he first appeared on the Broadway stage: “You could go to see a Hong Kong movie for one dollar in the afternoon after you finished a matinee. So I went and I went again. Pretty soon, I had a habit.”

16 years ago, Jackson owned about 500 H.K. titles on DVD and even sent fan mail to Chow Yun-Fat:“We’ve been exchanging things for years. We’ve been sending each other posters, photographs, videos, because I guess we’re both fans. I met him for the first time last year and saw him again just last night and we talked again.”

A lifted section from Chang Cheh’s memoir should make do for a wrap-up:

“The American system imposes strict prohibition on over-budget. A director who fails in the box office might still be given a second chance, but one who exceeds the budget will be shown the door in no time. It is because Hollywood film-makers understand that even the best director had his share of bad days but over-budgeting is an unforgivable human error. Hong Kong film-makers reviewed the story of John Woo and believe that’s how he managed to establish his place in Hollywood. Nonetheless, the generous budgets of Hollywood studios would allow any film to be completed satisfactorily without going into the red, not to mention the reserves written in the budget. Even Woo couldn’t avoid exceeding the budget while shooting in Hong Kong in the past.”